Here but Not
by Kitsune Swift
Summary: "Suddenly there was no doubt that this was her brother. But even as she stared at him, he didn't recognize her. He didn't see her." Jack/Sister centered one-shot.


She stared out the window, a small smile playing upon her lips. She was old. Her kids were grown, ready to have kids of their own. She was an elder among the small town. Her husband had passed on a few years back. Her body ached in a way she'd grown accustomed to, but never used to.

She stared out at the frost colored world. It was beautiful. It had taken a very long time for her to see the beauty of winter again. But she saw it now. It made her cry silent tears, and even in the warmth by the fire, it made her cheeks cold, though she paid it no mind.

Memories of a life time flashed in her mind. She could see her husband working at the wood piles. She could hear children's laughter from afar. She could smell her mother's cooking. It made her smile broaden. Oh how she missed it all. The days gone by. They were so far from her, but she'd never forget. Just like she'd never forgotten _him_.

"Oh, Jack…" she mumbled, closing her eyes and pressing her forehead to the window pane. The images in her mind shifted to the last time she'd seen him, laughing with what she knew was relief. She couldn't remember the exact hue of his eyes, nor exactly what he'd been wearing oh so very long ago. But she'd never forget that moment. That moment when everything in her life changed.

He'd saved her life. He lost his own in the process. Her brother was a hero. Her hero. And the entire town had come to his funeral. But she'd been too deep in disbelief and depression to really notice. It had snowed afterward. And she cursed and screamed at the cold that stole him away. She pushed everyone away. She saw him every winter, standing in the center of the lake, staring down, but if she moved to call him, beg him to come home, he vanished on the wind.

He gave her life. And eventually, she was able to realize this fact. Her guilt at living while he hadn't, slowly faded away. She began to live for both of them. She could never replace Jackson Overland, but she wouldn't let his sacrifice be in vain.

And she lived as best she could.

"Emily," a voice called, and she felt her heart freeze. She turned quickly. Far quicker than she'd been able to moments before, and she frowned slightly. But the frown was disregarded as her eyes met a familiar set of hazel. The man before her smiled lovingly, and she no longer cared at how disoriented she'd felt. "Emily," he said, quieter, "I've been counting the moments that have separated us for so long…"

"David," she replied, equally quiet. For there was no question of it. Her husband stood before her now, exactly as he'd been when they'd spoken their vows many years previous. The _how_ wasn't relevant in this moment. All that mattered was that he was _here_. And he embraced her, tightly, sighing into the nape of her neck. And she was smiling, holding him back just as tightly.

She didn't know how long they stayed that way. But David eventually pulled away with a smile. "As much as I would love to hold that embrace forever, there are others who wish to be able to speak with you again." And her eyes widened at that thought. "Your mom is very vocal, even now."

She laughed. Of course her mother was. She doubted anything could tame her mother's tongue. She paused, biting her lip. Nervousness wasn't something she was unaccustomed to, but it wasn't familiar any more. It hit her full force now. She'd lost many friends through the years. The idea of seeing everyone again… what could she say?

"How about "Hello"?" David said with a wink and she blinked at him, dazed. "I know this feels sudden. I went through the same feelings. Don't over think everything." He grinned, taking her hand and pulling her out into the outside. She could feel a touch of cold on her exposed face and her hands, but nothing like how she'd imagined the outside had been when she'd woken up this morning. It made her giggle.

Townsfolk were scattered around the square. She waved at them as she passed, unfazed at not having a response. Faces she knew very well, and others that she didn't know as well, she waved at them all. Somewhere, it made her sad to know it would likely be a while before she would speak to any of them again, but it was over shadowed with her joy.

He lead her to the outskirts of the town. That was where she first caught a glimpse of faces she remembered from so long ago. The first she noticed was Gregory, who was smiling widely. She hadn't seen him since both of them were freshly married off. He'd gone to the service, and never came home. She hurried forth and gave him a crushing hug. He laughed and gently pushed her back. "There's plenty of time to catch up, Em. But I'm not the only one looking forward to seein ya," he said, nodding further, and she paused with wide eyes, taking in the faces around her.

There was Mary! Tom! Nicholas! Her husband's parents, May and Paul! His sister Joanna! There was Jennifer! Chris! Mitchel! She stopped, eyes going even wider. Her parents. She ran forward, and they simultaneously caught her, all of them going to their knees. "Momma! Poppa!" she didn't care if her voice wavered, nor if her eyes were wet. She didn't care if she had lost all womanly proper wont. She had missed them both.

After a moment, she pushed away quickly. Her still wide eyes scanned over faces in the crowd around her. So many faces… but… where…? She whipped her attention back to her parents, who were both staring sadly at her. Her brow creased. She felt uncertainty. She looked to her husband, but David's eyes were on the ground. She felt pressure in her chest. This wasn't how this reunion was supposed to go.

She pushed herself to stand, her arms drawing to her chest. She shook her head, slowly. "Mom… where's…?" her eyes trailed, and she scanned the faces around her again. Still, those brown eyes she just couldn't picture any more, didn't stand out among the crowd. And in fact, each of them were watching her back, deep sadness reflected in each of them. "David?" she spun, staring at him desperately.

He schooled his expression and held a hand out to her. She cautiously took it, never blinking or looking away. He pulled her down an overgrown path. She was anxious. Why did no one say anything? All of the faces she passed… not a single one of them said anything. She followed as he led her to a painfully familiar place. She stared, hollowly, at the pond, frozen over as it always was in the winter. She realized that this was the first time she'd been here since that day. Was he here?

David shook his head, as if he'd heard her silent question, and she tried not to seem affected. "Emily…" he sighed. In life, growing up, he and Jack hadn't been the best of friends, though they'd gotten along well enough. He had looked up to her brother, he had told her as much during one of her moments. "There's no easy way to say what I am about to tell you." She stared at him, then, eyes reflecting all of the myriad of emotion she felt.

He sighed, looking up at the sky. She followed his gaze. Clouds were thickening above them. The bitter chill of winter was hinting at fresh snow. "Jack is here," he said wistfully, and her attention snapped back to him in disbelief. Why had he told her Jack wasn't, if he was? "But he's not."

She blinked. And narrowed her eyes. That made no sense. "How can he be here and yet not?" she questioned, her tone hinting to her emotional state. She watched David conceal a wince. Normally, she would soften her tone, apologize, and move to embrace him. Now, she simply stared at him, unable to do aught else in light of his words and the actions of her friends and family before.

He sniffed. "Before today, would you have believed any of us to be at the town borders? You never saw us, never heard us. For all intents and purposes, we weren't here. But we were. This whole time, we've been here, even though we weren't really here." She quirked a brow at this, and thoughtfully stared over the pond. She saw a single snowflake drift down to the ice. David smiled softly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She leaned in to his embrace.

The wind sang around them. It was cold, but not the uncomfortable chill that made her bones ache. It reminded her instead of playing in the snow when she, her brother, David, and all of their friends, were children. It made her smile.

"Just because you haven't seen him, does not mean he is not here," David said. The snow was beginning to fall faster. It blanketed the already quiet pond in silence. It was a tranquil scene she'd once loved, scorned, and loved again. Her smile grew fragile.

"Where is he, David? Where is Jack? I've longed to see him for so many years," she whispered, teary eyes looking at her beloved. "I miss my older brother." He didn't turn away. He didn't shed a tear. He simply stared back at her. "He should be here…" she said, wiping at her eyes. "Why isn't he here?"

David gave another sigh, holding her tighter and resting his head on top of her own. "I can't say why, for I don't really know it myself. Nor the how." That got her attention. She stilled, focusing straight ahead, waiting. "Jackson Overland died in this pond," he said it so quietly she almost didn't hear it. She winced despite herself. He pointed suddenly, and she glanced in that direction.

Someone was on the rock slope. His back was to them, and he was seemingly staring up at the sky. He was clad in normal attire, appropriate for a warm winter's day, accept for one fact: he was barefoot. He looked ethereal, amongst the snow without a seeming care nor worry. She mentally shook her head. Perhaps he was like she and David were. She felt embarrassment at that thought. Of course the cold wouldn't bother him if he were dead.

She glanced at David to ask him to continue, but the words died in her throat. Her husband's hazel eyes were watching the figure on the rocks, sadness swirling in their depths. She looked back, trying to discern where the emotion was coming from.

He was a teenager. That she could tell simply by his posture and size. Skinny, but upright, not overly masculine as most adult males tended to be. His hair was a strange color… but she doubted that would be the cause of her husband's sadness in this moment. He had a stick in his right hand that perhaps he'd used to help him up to his precarious position.

He turned and looked down towards the pond, and she gasped. She knew that face. She broke from her husband's hold, and stepped without caution onto the ice. He seemed to float down to her, landing softly on the ice without sound. She ran forward, arms out stretched. And gasped once more as she should have made contact. She only felt a chill, as if she'd touched the Northern Winds.

She spun, staring at him with wide, disbelieving brown eyes. He didn't even seem to have noticed her, walking instead to the very center of the ice, and sat cross-legged. "Jack!" she called out, hurrying to him again. She knelt down before him, trying to make eye contact. He merely stared down at the ice, as if she weren't there. This was all wrong.

There was no doubt that the boy in front of her was her very own brother, Jackson Overland. She recognized him, right down to the stick at his side, much to her muted horror. But at the same time, he was different. His hair color shouldn't be the shimmery white that it seemed to be now. It was supposed to be shades darker than her own brown hair. And his eyes. His eyes, lacking their everlasting joy and playfulness, were far from the right color. His eyes should be a brilliant, irreplaceable brown, not this impossible shade of blue…

David's arm once more went around her shoulders as he took a knee. She didn't look to him. She just stared, cataloguing the strange change in Jack's appearance. She said nothing. Nor did he. He did, however, hover his other hand above the cloak that hung around her brother's shoulders, and she stared. The cloak bore signs that it was far from doing its duty of providing warmth. She scowled at it a moment before she realized exactly what she was seeing: frost. It wasn't the fresh falling snow that decorated the cloak, but delicately woven frost. But that would mean that her brother was beyond cold…

Jack pushed himself back up to his feet, right through David, who held no reaction at such a strange action, and twirled the stick absently. The couple watched as the stick faintly glowed and glimmered. Fresh frost curled along the ice below. She saw Jack's cold blue eyes lighten as he too, watched the action. He took a step and pointed the stick to a tree, and the pattern grew up along the bark. He spun around, and repeated the action again and again before sighing. His eyes glanced in the direction of the settlement, for a moment at a loss, before he was suddenly scooped up by the wind and vanished from their sight.

All she could do, was stare. Jack was here, but wasn't. There was no other term for what she'd just witnessed, knowing death now as she did. He was here. Came and went as he pleased with the wind as his guide, but he couldn't see her. Couldn't hear her. Nor any of them. She cried into her husband's shoulder as he held her tight to his chest. Jack was still separated from his family, even in death.

A/N : Wanted to write something for Rise of the Guardians, and thus it came. I'm not overly happy with the ending, but it works well enough. As for all of the random names… yeah, no idea what Jack's sister's name was supposed to be, as it isn't said (I know many call her Pippa, and I like that name for her well enough), so I went with Emily, more as a tribute to an old movie called "Hocus Pocus", in which the little sister's name was Emily. For some reason, it fits in my mind. Anyway, thanks for reading. Maybe now that I've gotten this one shot out of my system, I can get on my other, multichapter stories? XD


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